Entries in women of Egypt
(10)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Egypt’s Tahrir Square on March 16, 2011. Photo ReutersBeyond the Veil| The Christian Science Monitor reports that a coalition of six youth groups that are movers and shakers in Egypt’s revolutionary refused to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Egypt. The group announced on their Facebook page that the decision was “based on her negative position from the beginning of the revolution and the position of the US administration in the Middle East.”

Secretary Clinton’s early response that the Egyptian (Mubarak-led) government was “Looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.” We must note that the tear gas canisters used against the protesters were stamped “Made in the USA.”

We don’t feature that many editorials solo anymore, but this one warrants a call out. Under the onslaught of American Republicans and the Vatican against American women, we will call even louder the differences in women’s status in America versus Europe and Latin America.

South Dakota has shelved their law allowing a man to murder his wife as justifiable homicide, if she was assisting in obtaining a legal abortion for her daughter out of state. We breathe a sign of relief, but know the same bill will be introduced in Utah or Oklahoma any day now.

The Egyptian army has said it would not use force against citizens staging protests to force President Hosni Mubarak to step down

In a statement on Monday it said “freedom of expression” was guaranteed to all citizens using peaceful means.

It was the first such explicit confirmation by the army that it would not fire at demonstrators who have taken to the streets of Egypt and comes a day before before Tuesday’s “march of millions” to mark the seventh day of the protests as anti-government sentiment reaches fever pitch.

This is exactly why I go to Al Jazeera for verification or another view. Chris Matthews calls tomorrow’s march the “Million Man March”. Al Jazeera calls the march the “march of millions”.

Beyond the Veil| Egyptians are at the polls today, and Foreign Policy takes a look at the challenges surrounding the new parliamentary quota for women. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Amal Abdel Karim has seen “her office ransacked, her posters down down, her supporters intimidated and threatened, while she reports being put under surveillance herself and summoned repeatedly to court.”

We’ve written positively about parliamentary quota systems for women around the world. In fact, we believe that America needs one, with our pathetic 16% of Congressional seats filled by women.

Beyond the Veil| Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayyet Tantawi wants a ban on women wearing niqab at Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world. While niqab is worn frequently in Egypt, more women are adopting the dress. Read on.

Beyond the Veil | The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit is not welcome in Egypt, where Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, says the kit will make it easier for Egyptian women to give in to temptation.

Some suggest that the virginity test is new in Muslim tradition, a reaction to our permissive Western culture that condones premarital sex. Read on.

Beyond the Veil| Egypt’s top Islamic authority Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said today the Muslim women are permitted to wear trousers, “though they should be loose and not see-though”. He specified that “stretch” pants in particular are unacceptable. Read on.

TIME reports that the Egyptian government has responded to the 2008 Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights report survey of 1,010 Egyptian women in which over half of the women reported being subject to sexual harassment on a daily basis. Abuses ranged from lewd comments to violent molestation.

The reports also documented the widespread belief that women are largely to blame for their harassment woes. In response, the Egyptian government has distributed 50,000 copies of “Sexual Harassment: Causes and Solutions” to 50,000 imams nationwide, with a focus on five causes of harassment and ways to deal with the problem.

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